


Metamorphosis

by xehaxig



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Emetophobia, Mentions of Violence, POV Vanitas (Kingdom Hearts), Pre-Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep, Vanitas is referring to himself as Ventus the entire time
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-18
Updated: 2020-02-18
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:21:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22785541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xehaxig/pseuds/xehaxig
Summary: The moment the chorus of emotions inside of him quietened down, Ventus vaguely understood that his Master was no longer present. Along with him, the body of his was also gone. Was it a delusion, then? Had he hallucinated his own dying corpse, out of anxiety and dread that he could've died due to being so stupid and careless?Perhaps.
Comments: 10
Kudos: 25





	Metamorphosis

The body laying before him brought unease and confusion to Ventus.

_Why am I there? Why am I on the ground, if I'm standing?_

The first thought to pop in the boy's head, of course, was that he was dissociating. Having an out of body experience. Logic seemed to agree with him. Being surrounded by the Neoshadow's had brought panic; fear. Trauma resurfaced and overwhelmed him, causing him to flee rather than fight.

But as he stood, he could feel his arms and shoulders crawl. He could lift his hand, allowing it to almost reach out towards the him on the ground. The sight of red bleeding into a black ribbed suit brought a flinch, and as the hand twitched Ventus felt more confusion and panic roll inside of him.

_That isn't my hand._

Rather than inspect himself, his eyes moved slightly upward to stare at the boots of his Master. He didn't dare disrespect the man by looking him in the eye, not after showing such cowardice. The anger nipped at his chest, feeling as if little embers of a flame were crackling beneath the surface.

As his Master spoke, Ventus found he couldn't focus. Emotions burned inside of him, screaming, howling to be released. The helmet resting on his face only served to muffle his Master's words even more. Ventus blinked rapidly, trying to force the feelings away. Master Xehanort had warned him constantly that a temper was nothing but a foolish thing to carry in one's heart- it led to making choices that would befall oneself. 

The moment the chorus of emotions inside of him quietened down, Ventus vaguely understood that his Master was no longer present. Along with him, the body of his was also gone. Was it a delusion, then? Had he hallucinated his own dying corpse, out of anxiety and dread that he could've died due to being so stupid and careless? 

_Perhaps._

The hand rose up once more, and it twisted to be palm up. Ventus picked at it, only to realize the other hand was practically identical. Did it come from the Heartless which had attacked him? The black outfit that now adorned his body didn't seem familiar either.

The hands continued their muddled exploration, eventually reaching the sharp edges of the mask upon him. Lining his lower jaw was a jagged face guard, but the gloves upon his hands were thick and hardened- he felt nothing but dull edges. The buzzing had softened for a moment, but it began to rise once more as his fingers reached the smooth surface that cloaked his sight in a dimmed darkness. Just as they began to lightly trace upon the glass, it swiftly melted away, and hands faltered as they gave way, swiping at the air for a moment.

They didn't trace his face. In fact, he didn't feel his face at all.

He could feel his throat swell with panic as he forced his hand towards where his head should be, only to feel nothing there. Panic climbed to hysteria as the hesitant groping turned to vicious clawing. _Where? Where was his face? Where did it go?_ He allowed his eyes to dart around, looking for a surface that was reflective enough to view what had happened to his body. _Why was it different? What was going on?_ What had happened from the time he was attacked to when he woke standing?

A Keyblade, once not as rusted as its brethren, was stabbed into the ground as if forced by gravity. A terrified sob tore itself from his mouth- _Did he have a mouth? Why couldn't he feel it?_ \- as he rushed across the desolate landscape. From a distance he could only register the reflection of a black form- so very different from his blond hair, his green eyes, his outfit of gray and white and black-

But that wasn't what he saw in the Keyblade.

The form mirrored to him was a gaseous entity. Pitch black shadows rippled and wove as they formed a mockery of a human silhouette. The eyes didn't even look natural either, two slits the color of rubies being stretched wide. 

What?

Who… That was not Ventus. That was not him. What happened to his-

The pain shot through him like a bolt of lightning. A scream wretched itself from his throat, and the hands- no. The claws scratched and tore at his chest as agony rippled and roared at him. His body throbbed, and he could feel bits of numbness between each shock as his head seemed to erupt with a stabbing, blinding pain. His screams grew more frantic, and the claws attempted to scour at his face- The pain that was brought forth from this allowed his body to flinch in shock before he was hit with another bolt of agony.

Ventus allowed wretched sobs to escape him, what felt like tears rolling down his face. He didn't understand what was hurting him. He didn't feel any physical injury. It felt as if his insides were ripping each other apart. As if a Heartless had trapped itself inside of him and was devouring him. 

His eyes briefly flashed back to the Keyblade, terrified to see the monster there once more, but instead he was met with a different face. A face that was more human.

Black hair, more than Ventus himself had. Eyes still red, but normal. The same dark skin that he shared, but with more freckles than he had ever seen on someone. As he blinked, the boy in the mirror parroted him. The pain was dull now, nearly gone, and Ventus felt his mind go blank when he spotted the Boy in the Keyblade had tears rolling down his cheeks. The claws- _More normal now, more hand like_ \- reached out a few inches, before pausing.

Ventus instead brought the hand to his own face.

It came back, dampened slightly from his own tears. Ventus looked at his hand with confusion, before he allowed his eyes to drift back to The Boy. 

The Boy stared back, mimicking his pose and actions perfectly. 

"Who-"

Ventus began speaking, only to immediately cut himself off as The Boy's lips moved but no voice followed. The only voice was his own, but it wasn't his. It came from his lips, but it was different. It was deeper, a bit harsher.

"What-?"

Ventus' throat tightened. Why was his voice-? He shuffled forward, leaning towards the Keyblade and The Boy as he frantically patted his face. 

The Boy did the same.

A fearful shout left him as he flung himself as far away from The Boy as possible. For his mind had only just now processed that The Boy was not some vision- it was not some stranger who was trapped in the Keyblade, some trick of the sight.

Ventus' face, Ventus' body, had changed. Nothing remained of his old self. His hair was the color of night, eyes glimmering a blood red. His face was more jagged than the soft plump that it had been. His body had even been more bulky than before his lesson had begun.

His mind helplessly played back what it could. 

The Neoshadow leaping towards him.

The Heartless clawing at his body, ripping at his skin, reaching for his heart.

His Master sighing and watching before stepping forward and ending the monsters with a single swipe of his Keyblade. 

Being rolled over, his wounds screaming in agony as his Master's Keyblade- That _Damn Keyblade_ \- descended and pierced-

A horrified scream rang out as Ventus clutched at his chest. The emotions raged beneath him now, negative and brimming with an eagerness to be set free. The mantra was growing louder even now.

Master Xehanort had stabbed him? Master Xehanort… did he kill him? Was he a Heartless now? _Why would he do that?_

Ventus bit back another scream, but something else rose from within him. His hands swiftly left their grip on his chest to cover his mouth- not his, the new mouth- as something fought violently to leave him. Ventus choked, doing his best to hold it back, but it won in the end. Black, ink-like substance poured from his mouth. For a moment, Ventus feared it was blood or vomit, but the Ink quickly moved and morphed and changed. Ventus kicked backwards in an attempt to flee as it began changing into a form not unlike a Heartless- however, it was sleek, oddly wobbly. It looked sharp, rather than rounded. 

It looked a bit like the Shadow Monster that had first appeared in the Keyblade's Mirror.

It fidgeted, darting and rapidly shifting itself, and Ventus froze as the red eyes laid upon him. It inched forward, before its eyes narrowed and it darted away. Ventus relaxed slightly before the sound of his Master's voice cut through him like the Keyblade had. 

"Boy, what do you think you are doing, laying around. We have important matters to discuss." 

And as Ventus looked up, acknowledging the man who had killed him, he caught the dull, blank stare of himself.

Ventus could only look at the clone of himself, the thief of his appearance, stay at his Master's side.

**Author's Note:**

> I felt the sudden urge to write a little ficlet than kinda explores my interpretation of Vanitas after he had been split from Ventus. I like the idea that Vanitas genuinely didn't understand that he and the body he was taken from were now two different people. He didn't understand what was happening, or why he had been "killed" by his Master.
> 
> I took my own liberties and I hc that due to trauma, Ventus (and Vanitas) suffer from delusions and hallucinations, as well as dissociation. Also that Vanitas didn't have Sora's face until AFTER Ven had fused his heart with Sora's. And that maybe, perhaps, your own face changing so drastically would hurt like HELL.
> 
> I hope you guys enjoyed it? I don't feel super confident writing KH fics, but I loved writing this and it came naturally to me!


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